Perspectives Texts

Our searchable library of short texts offers a diverse mix of stories and perspectives. This multi-genre, multi-media collection aligns with the Common Core's recommendations for text complexity and the Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards. Choose from informational and literary nonfiction texts, literature, photographs, political cartoons, interviews, infographics and more.

“The leveled texts have really helped me engage students and introduce them to complex topics in a way they can understand.”

Every night Bailey dreams about dresses, but each day his mother, father, and brother remind him that he is a boy and dresses aren't for him. Finally, he finds a friend who embraces both his love for dresses and the individual he feels he is inside.

Laura Linn's article explores how Rosa Marcellino, a nine-year old with Down syndrome, and her family worked to eliminate the phrase "mentally retarded" from official use. "Rosa's Law" is living, legislative proof that their hard work paid off.

Mari and her family have been sent to an internment camp in Utah. She does not understand what they have done to deserve their internment and longs for her backyard in California where she used to grow sunflowers.

Felipe Morales' telling account of an encounter with a blind woman on the streets of Washington, D.C. was recorded for This I Believe. The NPR project features brief personal essays in which people from diverse backgrounds discuss how their values affect their daily lives.

This story, illustrated by Don Kilpatrick, describes a group of people who immigrated from Germany to the United States in order to seek religious asylum and practice their way of life in peace, but were met by continued persecution, which only escalated when World War I broke out.

This story tells the tale of how Sarah and Natalie became friends. Sarah, both new to class and in a wheelchair, sits at the desk next to Natalie. At first, Natalie has some trouble getting over Sarah’s appearance and limitations, but with some help from her teacher and Sarah’s aide, she discovers a great, new friend waiting for her.